TJ Rios is a 2025-2026 Teach Plus Massachusetts Policy Fellow. They are a secondary humanities teacher and serve on the Instructional Leadership Team at Discovery Polytech Early College High School in Springfield, Massachusetts. TJ coaches teachers to improve their pedagogy so students can engage and learn more effectively. They also have led humanities courses with a self-built curriculum aligned to Common Core Standards and competency-based grading. TJ has spearheaded and supported initiatives to better family communication, student absenteeism, and Response to Intervention as a Teacher Leadership Team member and Grade Level Chair. They have received an Intentionality Award (2021) and have been published in literary magazines (2016-2019). TJ earned a BA in English with a minor in philosophy and religion from Albertus Magnus College and an MAT from Relay Graduate School of Education.
